Hyperliquid Whales Turn Net Sellers of Bitcoin Contracts for First Time Since March
Key Facts
Large traders’ Bitcoin futures positions on Hyperliquid turned net short for the first time since March, after being net long the previous week, Bloomingbit reported, citing a Glassnode post on October 27. The observation concerns traders’ Bitcoin futures positions on the platform and does not establish that large spot holders sold their holdings. Glassnode said the group had previously succeeded in building long positions near price lows. But it did not determine whether the current shift reflects expectations of further declines or exposes traders to liquidation pressure if the price rises. The change therefore describes positioning in the derivatives market, with two opposing possibilities for what it may mean.
Glassnode’s weekly report published on October 21 provides background on the price action and trading levels it observed at the time. On October 15, Bitcoin’s hourly close fell to $80,100 before the close in the following hour returned above the cost basis of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. The decline that day passed through most of the large buy-order cluster on Binance’s spot market order book. By October 20, buy orders had returned, but remained smaller than their previous peak. These details show a sequence of falling prices and the return of some orders, without identifying the Bitcoin price when the whale positions announced on October 27 shifted.
In the liquidity map in the same report, Glassnode identified the main sell-order cluster between $86,500 and $87,500, describing it as the first heavy resistance on the order book. The report also pointed to the two largest liquidation clusters near $85,000 and $87,000, and to a lower liquidation line near $79,600. These levels mark areas where positions could potentially react to price moves, but do not establish that liquidations will occur there. The higher liquidation cluster is relevant to Glassnode’s warning that short-position holders could face pressure if Bitcoin rises. The lower level marks another range that positions could react to if the price falls.
The report provided estimates of the purchase cost for two groups of Bitcoin holders: about $86,700 for coins bought 6 to 12 months earlier, and about $100,000 for coins bought 1 to 2 years earlier. The cost basis for the first group, according to the report, had fallen from $88,000 the previous week. These metrics differ from Hyperliquid futures positions because they describe the cost of coins according to how long they have been held, not the direction of traders’ positions on the platform. On flows, Glassnode said U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs received about $653 million on October 19, their largest daily inflow since September 22. But the report said trading volume remained below normal.
Data published by Coinbase Institutional on October 23 points to a shift in demand sources since August: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs received about $6.4 billion, compared with about $1.5 billion for corporate treasuries. Corporate treasuries were the main buyers in the first half of the year before the roles reversed. On October 19, BlackRock’s IBIT recorded an inflow of about $665 million, its largest daily inflow since October 2025, according to Coinbase Institutional. In its October 7 report, Coinbase Research said Bitcoin rose 43% in the third quarter to $83,600, despite the Federal Reserve resuming monetary tightening. These figures provide context on fund flows and market moves, but do not by themselves explain the shift in Hyperliquid positions to net selling.
In its market assessment, Coinbase Institutional said the $80,000 to $82,000 range represents near-term support, and that the next support could lie between $73,000 and $75,000 if the first range fails. It also reported on October 16 that federal funds futures reflected about a 30% chance of an October rate hike, compared with about 20% before the release of the inflation data cited in the report. Coinbase linked that probability to monetary policy remaining a headwind ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting. In Glassnode’s data, profit-taking slowed over the previous week to about half its pace during Bitcoin’s September peak week, while realized losses remained relatively stable. These indicators come amid a market where fund flows, liquidity zones and derivatives positions coexist.
Among upcoming dates, the Federal Reserve meets on October 27 and 28, with its decision and press conference scheduled for October 28. Coinbase Institutional said Strategy was scheduled to report third-quarter results on October 29. In November, the Glassnode report said MSCI would publish its final list on November 11, with the changes taking effect at the close on November 30. These dates put announced events in front of investors over the coming weeks, without predetermining their effect on Bitcoin. The shift identified by Glassnode remains news about trader positioning on Hyperliquid, while the possibility of further declines or pressure on short positions remains open.